How do you define virginity?

While I plan on throwing this in the paper I’m writing, I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the breakdown of my virginity poll.

57% of the responders believe that your virginity means you haven’t had sexual intercourse of any kind
31% of the responders believe that your virginity means you haven’t had vaginal sex
9% of the responders believer that virginity does not actually exist
2% of the responders believe that your virginity means you don’t masturbate, have sex, or watch porn

I’m a firm believer that giving meaning to the word virginity is damaging for women. When you think of virginity typically you think of purity and typically you think of women. Things like hymens and vaginas and not being penetrated. What about the men? What about their stereotypes? Regardless of how you define virginity I hope that it doesn’t make you feel like less of a person or more of a person depending if you are/aren’t one. Because something like that (your sex life or lack there of) should never define you.

And, for the record, there is no official definition for the word “virginity”… we are the ones that give it meaning depending on our own perception of the word and our own perception of what purity is. And that, I suppose, is why I find the word so damaging. Because we all perceive things differently, and to give a word with no definition some meaning gives us all the more reason to judge others.

At least no one voted “you’re a virgin if you have your hymen still”… thank god for that.